Anna and Adler are a filmmaking couple out of a fairy tale story. They met on a film set and now shoot their own movies together. Anna and Adler tell us that two heads are better than one, but that does not mean they agree on every idea together. They may not be from Philadelphia, but they managed to come here in pursuit of chasing their filmmaking dreams, as well as teaching the next generation of filmmakers to pursue theirs.
Check out their films at:
Interview
What are your names?
Anna Walker-Roberts and Adler Roberts.
How long have you guys been in the film industry?
We started acting in films in 2011 while studying at SCAD, and started making them ourselves in 2016.
Do you both act or do you both do something different within the field?
We both have acted but switched over to the filmmaking side in 2016-17. Adler worked for sight and sound theaters for a number of years and did commercial work in Philly and NYC. I (Anna) did mostly short films in Philly.
Now we both write, shoot, direct, edit, etc. I (Anna) primarily write, direct, and do cinematography. Adler is more of our gear guy, a solid Ronin operator, and likes directing actors since he’s done a lot of acting himself. We try to have each other’s backs and fill in whatever role is needed for each other’s projects. I (Anna) also run the CTE Digital Video program at Science Leadership Academy, a public Philly high school. You also interviewed my student Grace Conley!
Wow, small world! So what drew you two into the entertainment field?
We were both drawn to telling stories. We both did high school theater, Adler in Kansas City and myself in Texas, but neither of us knew much about film until college. We like stories that are hopeful and meaningful. Whether that’s nonprofit videos or narrative short films, we want to tell stories that have a positive impact on the world. We also both love collaborating!
So how did both you and Adler meet within the industry?
We met at orientation for college and then didn’t really talk for two years. I was the assistant director of 3 Musketeers by Ken Ludwig and Adler was cast as D’Artagnan. Our paths crossed again after a Shakespeare class where we played Helena and Demetrius. We ended up dating. We worked on a bunch of plays and films after that and haven’t stopped yet. We really like working together and helping bring each other’s ideas to life.
So romantic! I am assuming that you (Anna) are more into the behind the scenes and Adler is more into acting?
Ha! He (Adler) definitely worked professionally as an actor a lot more than me. We both do behind the scenes, but he still acts and it’s even more rare for me to act in anything. Yes essentially to what you said. He does help so much with gear, camera operating and organizing our footage that I want to make sure that’s acknowledged too.
What was it like acting for the first time ever?
Anna – I think I started acting as a kid playing pretend, putting on shows for my parents and never really stopped. It was always really fun for me. As a kid and teen performing on stage just felt right, normal. I really liked over-the-top roles, making people laugh. I love making something with a group of people and then showing an audience. In college, I switched over to film acting and was definitely thrown off by the addition of the camera and the subtlety it called for. The first film I did was called In Storage and was an interpretation of Grey Gardens set in a storage facility. I’ve never minded watching myself and found it to be a helpful way to learn how to improve. There was a learning curve there, but I found I liked film acting even more than stage acting. I like connecting with people and I think that’s the foundation of acting. Having a connection with your scene partner and the audience.
Adler’s acting: Adler has also always been performing. His journey has been going from telling a big over the top story in a high school musical to telling more truthful personal stories as he got older.
Awesome! How many films have you and Adler done so far?
Five short films, part of a documentary that we did a second shooting for, and a bunch of videography for non-profits and weddings. We have four projects in preproduction right now. One is a teaser for a docuseries that’s supposed to be shot in NYC at the end of March. Another is a short that I wrote and am DPing called Platonic that is supposed to shoot in Philly April 6-10. It’s a featurette that Adler is directing in August, and a short called Five Minutes that I’m directing in June.
Did filming at non-profits and weddings help you maintain your craft?
Yeah, I think filming weddings in particular is a crash course in high-pressure filmmaking and on-the-go cinematography. Working with non-profits is often fulfilling in the sense that the videos they need usually help them raise funds or awareness about something that matters.
What was your first ever film together?
Our first film together was a short in college called Vegenaise. We both acted in it. The first film we worked on together is called Love Cycles. It was for a 21-day film challenge and was ROUGH, but we had a good time and learned a lot.
Do you have a favorite genre you like?
I’d call our favorite genre “inspirational indie” I think I’m making that up but it feels right haha.
How different is film production and theater?
While the goals of film and theater are similar, the processes are pretty different. In theater, the audience is usually stationary and is presented with a consistent view of the show. Actors are doing it all live in a single take. There’s a big emphasis on the rehearsal process and finding the moments of the show, the rhythm of the whole thing. You get close to the other people working on the piece because you spend a ton of time in rehearsal and performances with them.
In film there’s rarely an emphasis on rehearsal since you can do multiple takes. There are rehearsals and readings, just not what you usually spend the most time on. The film is taking the audience on a journey? Moving them around in the space of a scene, instantly changing locations, etc. You don’t get to know everyone else working on the project, and no one really gets a sense of the final piece until it’s done. You can work on set and feel like it’s going great only to watch the final film and it be awful.
Are you guys originally from Philly? I know you said Kansas City and Texas?
I grew up in Longview, Texas and Adler grew up in Overland Park, KS (suburb of KC).
Why did you move?
We moved to Lancaster for Adler to work at a theater in 2016 and moved to Philly for me to run this film program at SLA in August 2017.
Have you ever worked in the film hub Los Angeles?
Nope. Georgia, Texas, Kansas, Illinois, New York, and Pennsylvania.
So what do you do at SLA?
I run the CTE Digital Video program, which is a Three year program for students to learn filmmaking. Kids choose to commit Three years and 1080 hours of class time to learning how to make films. There are seventy five total kids in the program. You can see their work @sla_digitalvideo or our Vimeo
http://www.vimeo.com/SLAdigitalvideo
They say if you want to learn something, teach it. That’s been true for me. Teaching film has helped me grow a lot as a filmmaker. Some of it is thinking more about how to explain something, but I’ve also usually got ten to thirty film projects that my students are working on at any given time. It definitely keeps me on my toes. I’ve learned that filmmaking is problem-solving. That’s true at any level. I’ve gotten a lot better at solving problems with Premiere, Sony cameras, live streaming, etc. from helping the kids with so many projects. Also, they figure things out on their own all the time and I learn a lot from that. Sometimes they submit a film and I have to ask them how they’d did part of it. It’s inspiring to be surrounded by that kind of eagerness and creativity all the time.
What is it like teaching the next generation of filmmakers?
Teaching the next generation makes me really hopeful. It’s fun to work in a setting where process always rules over product. It’s helped me to see film as an iterative process rather than a race to the final product. Teaching has challenged me to think through what I know, how I know it, and how to help someone else learn it. I definitely see my students as collaborators. They teach me new things all the time and I’m grateful to learn from them and with them. I’m always trying to instill curiosity and inquiry in them and it’s made me more curious and inquisitive too.
Was Philly where you guys originally wanted to move to?
We never had a plan to move to Philly. I guess it found us more than we found it. We also considered New York and have done work up there. I was the one who really didn’t want to live in New York so Philly was a good compromise. The big draw was my job, which has been a dream come true. Getting to make movies with teens all day is a pretty good gig.
How do you like it here in Philly?
We love Philly! I lived in a more rural area most of my life so I wasn’t sure about living in a big city. Philly has been fantastic. It really feels like a small town and the arts community has been really welcoming. Adler has been involved with Playhouse West and I’m involved with RoughCuts, a filmmaking group that meets once a month. I’ve had to adapt to the cold more and not being able to see the sky as much as you do in TX, but we’ve loved it.
http://www.roughcutsfilmmakers.com
Have you done any long films or is it mainly short films?
Pretty much all shorts. Platonic, which we are shooting in April will be about 17-20 minutes so that’s a bit longer that what we normally do.
What are your Short films mainly about?
Fostering Home is about a couple that can’t have kids and end up taking in a foster kid who is about to age out of the system. They have to figure out what family means.
Platonic is about best friendship and the kind of bonds that last a lifetime even if they have rough patches.
5 Minutes is about someone struggling with addiction who just wants someone to understand what it’s like to be unable to quit a substance.
Our other films have been about people bonding over bicycles or a deer hunter who becomes the hunted. We’ve also done videography for public schools, UPenn, CIS Cycling, Youth Engineering and Science, First Tee Golf, International Law Weekend, Pro Surfers, musicians, etc.
I think we are always looking for the human story and how to best tell it.
Do you fund your films out of pocket or do you have financial backers?
We mostly find out of pocket and try to write projects that use resources we already have access to. We also love a good work/trade. You edit my project and I’ll shoot one for you, etc. For Fostering Home we only spent money on food for a few people and post audio.
For Platonic it’s a bigger budget with a mix of resources we have and don’t have, people who are doing work/trade and people who are getting a daily rate.
We’ve been able to get a lot of our locations for free, which is one of the magical things about Philly. The community is really supportive of indie filmmakers, which helps a lot. We also have friends who are providing meals to keep costs down. It takes a village.
Do you have a steady crew?
We have a core group of people we keep collaborating with that ebbs and flows a bit on each project. Nico Giampietro, Michael J. Mina, Ian Fursa, Rebecca Cureton, Brock Vickers, Trace Pope, Beau Rosario, Justin Doughty. Part of getting involved with Rough Cuts this year was to grow that community more. We met Jamie Forslund through rough cuts, who is doing Art Direction on Platonic and 5 Minutes and we hope to keep collaborating with her. It’s nice to work with people we have a flow with, but also good to get new energy in the group. It really depends on people’s availability.
Where have you filmed so far within Philly?
I’ve filmed at Gryphon Coffee in Fishtown, all over the Fairmount // Art Museum district, Fairmount Bikes, outside Rodin Museum, Art Museum Steps, Francisville Playground, lots of apartments, a basement in West Philly, Schuylkill River Trail. As an actor I’ve filmed at UPenn, boathouse row, Drexel, Temple, Fairmount Park, the Ritz Carlton, parking garages, car dealerships, Color Space Labs. We’ve also filmed in Lancaster, Strasburg, Chadd’s Ford, and Gap, PA. We have also filmed at Perry World a House at UPenn for a series of videos. Building 21, Science Leadership Academy Beeber, and Workshop School for videos as well. And a ton of playgrounds and YMCAs for a non-profit video.
What adversities have both you and Adler encountered in the industry?
Anna – I think a lot of the adversities I’ve faced in film are the same men face. Being nervous to put your work out there, self-doubt, finding the right people to collaborate with. I think we all privately face those demons to some extent. Specifically as a woman: Being given unsolicited, unhelpful advice on my scripts, people being surprised that I DP, people constantly asking what it’s like to be a woman in film but not asking about my work. I had much worse experiences when I was acting and have found this side of the camera to be much more empowering. It has definitely made me aware of the space I create for actors on my sets. For me, the vast majority of my experience as a woman in film has been like my experience of being a woman in general. Sometimes people underestimate me, take advantage, or treat me inappropriately. Most of the men in my life, however, are great collaborators, encouragers, and friends. We definitely need more women in the industry, more people of… Color, more diversity across the board. I think that starts in high school, which is a big reason why I want to run a film program in an urban public school. It’s incredible to be part of raising up diverse young voices who are thinking about how they treat each other. Based on my experience, there is a lot of hope for the film industry if we all keep lifting as we rise.
Adler’s – Trying to do big dreams with small budgets has been a challenge. You can do it, it just takes a lot of asking, coordinating, and creative problem-solving. The fear of knowing that what you are making probably won’t end up as excellent as you imagine it can be crippling at times but I just keep making things and getting better each time.
Have you and Adler ever butt heads on set?
Ha, yes we have. We’ve always been pretty good communicators in our relationship as a couple but had to start from ground zero when collaborating on films. We try to talk a lot about our plans and expectations at home during pre-production, so we know each other’s thoughts and have a similar vision for the project. We REALLY try not to disagree with each other on set. We want to have each other’s backs and be each other’s safety net. If we have different ideas about how something should be shot, we usually shoot it both ways and decide in post. We’ve learned that usually in creative endeavors it’s not about being right or wrong, but submitting to the creative process to tell the best story. We have different working styles and personalities and have focused on how to utilize each of our strengths instead of clashing creatively. It involves a lot of communication, vulnerability, trust and overall I think it has strengthened our whole relationship.
So do you believe in the “two heads are then one” saying right?
Yes, two heads are better than one. Always.
What is your favorite actor/ actresses Anna and what is Adler’s?
It’s so hard to pick just one…I’m obsessed with Allison Janney. I’ve loved her since West Wing. She is smart, funny, witty, taller than everyone, and can play humor SO deadpan. I also grew up watching a lot of John Wayne and have to acknowledge the Duke as well.
Adler’s is Ben Foster. He communicates so much with just behavior. 3:10 to Yuma (2007) is one of our favorite movies that he’s in and more recently Hell or High Water (2016) was fantastic.
My next question was what is your favorite film haha.
Anna’s – Favorite Film is hard. We do love 3:10 to Yuma (2007). I really hope to make a western someday. I grew up on a strong diet of AMC westerns and TCM golden-age musicals. My favorite film right now is probably Blue Jay by the Duplass Brothers. It’s so beautifully, intimately, uncomfortable and I love it.
Adler’s is Mud (2012) because it’s beautifully shot and explores the theme of love in a non-traditional way.
Is there any part of film or the entertainment field that you do not like?
Anna – I’m not really into reality TV or horror. I respect people who are, they just aren’t for me. I’m also not super excited about production sound or post audio. They are SO CRUCIAL to a good film, but I want someone else to do them.
Adler hates self-promotion, which is a necessary evil if you want people to see your work as an actor or filmmaker. It feels easier when it’s a film you’ve made than a film you’re in. Look at this story vs. look at me!
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Anna – It’s a weird moment to think about where we will be in 10 years since no one really knows what we will be doing in two weeks. In 2030 I hope we are still making films, telling stories that matter to us, and helping others do the same.
Adler – In ten years he hopes we are also raising a family and teaching our kiddos to tell stories too
What advice do you have for people within the film industry or prospective filmmakers?
Someone once told me to have the soul of a poet and the hide of a rhino. I think it’s important to be a vulnerable, collaborative, open person but also to let things bounce off of you. My advice is to go for it! Make movies on your phone, take Masterclass, volunteer on sets, start doing it and figure it out as you go. Everyone started out learning and the goal is to always keep learning. Be curious. Work with people you enjoy and make things that matter to you, not things you think other people will find cool or edgy. Stay humble, ask questions, and keep going! Adler also echoes what I said and says to pursue excellence over success.
